Remember when I posted about the five compositional rules? Well one of my favorite from that list is framing! I use framing A LOT by shooting through leaves and branches, doorways, crib bars and anything else I can find. Today I’m just going to focus on my favorite photography framing technique: framing with foliage.
WHY & HOW
I love framing because it leads my viewers’ eyes straight to my beautiful subject. It makes the photo much more interesting and also adds so much dimension to the picture. The foliage in the foreground adds depth and interest. To use foreground foliage for framing, all you have to do is get the leaves or branches between you and your subject.
- Get your subjects in/under the tree or as close to it as possible so the branches are framing them.
- Make sure your focus is on the subject.
- Create depth of field by one or all of the following:
- use a large aperture (small f/number)
- a long lens (biggest mm number)
- increase the distance between the foliage and your subject.
- decrease the distance between you and the foliage.
SHOOTING THROUGH STUFF + LENS LENGTH
Lens length makes a huge difference when you’re shooting through “stuff” in the foreground. The longer the lens, the softer the look.
Top Left:50mm • Top Right:35mm • Bottom Left & Right:70-200mm at 110mm
PIN IT
Kylee is the owner and founder of Kylee Ann Studios, where she’s spent more than 15 years building a photography business rooted in creativity, connection, and serving her clients well. She’s a mom, business owner, and photographer who loves making people feel comfortable and capturing the real moments that make their stories unique.
She specializes in commercial and brand photography, family photography, weddings, seniors, newborns, and more throughout Cache Valley and Northern Utah.
January 14, 2016
Kylee Maughan
